Man who police say had 230 grams of cocaine at Crystal Lake drug buy pleads guilty, gets 11 years in prison

A Chicago man who was accused of possessing more than 230 grams of cocaine when he showed up to a prearranged drug buy in Crystal Lake was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison.

Raul Alvarez, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession with intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, a Class X felony, according to a judgment order in the McHenry County court.

In exchange for his guilty plea, a charge of possession with the intent to manufacture and deliver 100 to 400 grams of cocaine was dismissed, records show.

In an order from December detaining Alvarez in county jail pretrial, Judge Carl Metz noted the amount of cocaine Alvarez had and said it “is far beyond an amount used for personal consumption.”

Alvarez is “a clear and present threat to the safety to anyone in the community who may consume the cocaine he sells,” Metz wrote.

Alvarez is required to serve half his prison time followed by 18 months mandatory supervised release. He will receive credit for 241 days in jail, the order said.